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The most recent newsletter will be at the top!
Monday, November 2nd, 2026
Dear First Grade Families,
We had a busy week full of crafting, art, reading, and creativity! This current week starts a new month and a lot of fun things are going on. We also have a lot of things coming up so please read through this email carefully!
Thank you! What a fun Fall Celebration Party! Thank you to all who donated items, volunteered their time, and helped their student make Friday a special day.
Volunteering! If you have been volunteering, I truly appreciate your time! I will be sending out emails for the month of November and December for volunteer days/times. If you haven’t been able to volunteer, but would like to, please email me! I will add you to our schedule :)
Lunch Change! Unfortunately, our lunch staff have had to change our lunch options. Here are the updated lunch choices for the month of November and December:
November 3rd – calzone change to chicken nuggets
November 5th – Chicken nuggets removed. Beef tacos served alone
November 9th- Calzone change to mac and cheese
November 10th- Chicken nuggets only served alone (mac and cheese moved to Monday)
November 17th – Hamburger/cheeseburger moved to November 19th, beef tacos served alone
November 19th- Calzone changed to hamburger/cheeseburger
December 1st – Calzone change to chicken nuggets
December 3rd – Chicken nuggets removed. Beef tacos served alone
New Specials starting next week (Monday, November 9th)! We are changing our specials. We do this three times a year so that students can have the same amount of each special, especially on Mondays and Fridays since those are days that we miss the most school. Here is our new schedule:
Monday: Art
Tuesday: Engineering & Technology
Wednesday: Music
Thursday: P.E.
Friday: Media (Library)
Thanksgiving Food Drive! At the beginning of November, our Star Squad members are going to be collecting food for our annual food drive until Friday, November 13th.
Some highlights from our week:
Reading & Writing: We explored l and r blends (e.j. clip and cranky). They are called blends because they blend their sounds together when we read them, but we should sound out each letter in a blend when writing. Next week, we will explore the digraph: kn-.
Math: We started Lesson 5: Solve Word Problems to 10. We talked about circling important numbers in our problem and underlining important words that could help us figure out what the problem is asking.
Community: We started talking about what/who makes up our community. Also we discussed the difference between needs and wants. I will reach out for volunteers to present about their community job to the class. This current week, we will also talk about election day and how voting can affect our community.
Character Trait: We finished working on Collaboration for the month of October. We will work on Compassion for the month of November. Compassion means noticing when someone is sad or needs help and wanting to do something to make them feel better.
Action Item Checklist (Friday Folder)
Action Item Checklist (Friday Folder)
Your student came home with their Friday Folder today! Please complete the following:
Review and Keep: All papers at home.
Check Out:
Rollerland flyer
Media Worksheets
Cycle 29 preview practice paper
November Morning Munchies
School Pictures if you ordered them :)
Return: The empty blue folders on Monday.
I hope you have a fantastic weekend :)
Angela Johnson
1st Grade Teacher
Shepardson STEM Elementary School
Upcoming Important Dates:
Friday, October 30th - Read-A-Thon Book Character Costume Parade 9:15am
Monday, November 2nd - Thanksgiving Food Drive Begins!
Friday, November 5th - Shepardson Rollerland Night 5:00-8p
Monday, November 9th - PTO General Meeting 6:30-7:30p
Thursday, November 12th - Family STEM Night 5:30-7:30p
Friday, November 13th - Thanksgiving Food Drive Ends!
Monday, November 23th - Friday, November 27th - No School (Thanksgiving Break!)
Saturday, December 19th - Monday, January 4th - No School (Winter Break!)
My Learning Page: https://sites.google.com/psdschools.org/she-learning-1-johnson/home
My Classroom Wishlist: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3DCJ4CSOQA1ZY?ref_=wl_share
Scholastic Book Club: https://orders.scholastic.com/QN377
Friday, October 23rd, 2026
Dear First Grade Families,
Thank you for being patient with me as I have been sick the last couple of days. I plan to be back to school on Monday! There was a party invite that was meant to be put in Friday Folders but weren’t able to make it. I will send them home in backpacks on Monday, but for now, check out the link here: https://www.evite.com/event/03E1IIAE4SKDAAVEGEPRXODYYOHDEY?utm_campaign=send_sharable_link&utm_source=evitelink&utm_medium=sharable_invite
Read-a-Thon! All month we have been reading to raise money for our PTO. We celebrate our reading by dressing up in a book character costume on Friday, October 30th and have a parade throughout the school. Parents are invited to watch the parade. It will start around 9:15a. If you have a costume but don’t have a book to match, LET ME KNOW! I would love to help you and your child find a book :) We do ask that the costume not be too scary. If students bring a mask, they can only wear it during the parade.
Fall Celebration Sign up! Here is the link to sign up to donate supplies or money towards our Fall Celebration Party on Friday, October 30th: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C084CA4A72DA3F5CF8-66596509-spooky#/
Some highlights from our week:
Reading & Writing: We reviewed digraphs including wh- and -ck as well as a quick review of our FLSZ Rule (Double ff, ll, ss, zz at the end of a one syllable word with a short vowel).
Math: We finished Lesson 4: Use Addition to Subtract! Next week, we are going to start Lesson 5: Solve Word Problems to 10.
Community: We started talking about what/who makes up our community. Also we discussed the difference between needs and wants.
Module Block: We are still in our Module: Be A Maker. Students worked on writing about reading. We focused on characters, setting, and story arc (beginning, middle, and end).
Action Item Checklist (Friday Folder)
Action Item Checklist (Friday Folder)
Your student came home with their Friday Folder today! Please complete the following:
Review and Keep: All papers at home.
Check Out:
Lesson 5 Math Letter
Media Worksheets
Read-A-Thon Flyer
Recycle Your Batteries! Flyer
Scholastic Book Club Flyer
Return: The empty blue folders on Monday.
I hope you have a fantastic weekend :)
Angela Johnson
1st Grade Teacher
Shepardson STEM Elementary School
Upcoming Important Dates:
Friday, October 30th - Read-A-Thon Book Character Costume Parade 9:15am
Friday, November 5th - Shepardson Rollerland Night 5:00-8p
Monday, November 9th - PTO General Meeting 6:30-7:30p
Thursday, November 12th - Family STEM Night 4:00-9:00p
Monday, November 23th - Friday, November 27th - No School (Thanksgiving Break!)
Saturday, December 19th - Monday, January 4th - No School (Winter Break!)
My Learning Page: https://sites.google.com/psdschools.org/she-learning-1-johnson/home
My Classroom Wishlist: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3DCJ4CSOQA1ZY?ref_=wl_share
Scholastic Book Club: https://orders.scholastic.com/QN377
Friday, October 2nd, 2026
Dear First Grade Families,
We had a SUPER fun Spirit Week! I saw all kinds of tie dye, wacky hair, twins and purple and gold. Thank you for supporting our encouragement of students’ attendance. Today, students who were here all week were allowed to throw a ball in order to try to dunk Mrs. Sutton, Mrs. Ray or me!
Parent Teacher Conferences! These will be held Monday, October 12th through Wednesday, October 14th from 4pm to 7:45pm. I have sent home a form for you to fill out and return before our conference so I can touch on key topics you would like to discuss. Please sign up using this link by finding my name before choosing a day and time: https://bookings.cloud.microsoft/book/ShepardsonSTEMElementarySchoolCopy@poudreschools.onmicrosoft.com/?ismsaljsauthenabled
Some highlights from our week:
Reading & Writing: We reviewed the digraph -ck at the end of a word and when to use c or k at the beginning of a word (cat, kite, etc). Next week, we will start working on y at the end of a short word says i (my, by, etc).
Math: We completed our “Show What You Know” for strategies counting on and counting back. Next week, we will start Lesson 4: Use Addition to Subtract
Geography: We continue to dive deeper into landforms, bodies of water, and seasonal weather. Next week, we will start talking about parts of our community.
Module Block: We are still in our Module: Be A Maker. Students listened to the story “Abby Invents Unbreakable Crayons” by Dr. Arlyne. We discussed the story by using words like characters, setting, plot, etc. Then, we discussed how Abby showed habits of strong character that include perseverance, collaboration, responsibility and initiative.
Action Item Checklist (Friday Folder)
Action Item Checklist (Friday Folder)
Your student came home with their Friday Folder today! Please complete the following:
Review and Keep: All papers at home.
Check Out:
K World Class Tae Kwon Do flyer
October/November Lunch Schedule (Cheese Calzone’s will be switched to Chicken Nuggets for October)
Cycle 26: Y says i flyer
Topic 4: Use Addition to Subtract flyer
Morning Munchies: October packet
Parent Teacher Conference form (Please return before your conference!)
Return: The empty blue folders on Monday.
I hope you have a fantastic weekend :)
Angela Johnson
1st Grade Teacher
Shepardson STEM Elementary School
Upcoming Important Dates:
Monday, October 12th - Wednesday, October 14th - Parent Teacher Conferences 4:00-6:45p (Sign-ups coming soon!)
Thursday, October 15th and Friday, October 16th - No School (Licensed Staff Exchange Days)
Friday, October 30th - Read-A-Thon Book Character Costume Parade 9:15am
My Learning Page: https://sites.google.com/psdschools.org/she-learning-1-johnson/home
My Classroom Wishlist: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3DCJ4CSOQA1ZY?ref_=wl_share
Scholastic Book Club: https://orders.scholastic.com/QN377
Friday, September 25th, 2026
Dear First Grade Families,
We have had a full week of learning and fun! I have started having volunteers during our skills block and math block. Thank you for your time and support :)
SPIRIT WEEK! Next week, we will be encouraging and celebrating students who are attending school consistently.
-Tuesday: Tye Dye!
-Wednesday: Wacky Hair!
-Thursday: Twin Day!
-Friday: Purple and Gold!
STEM Night! I have attached the flyer to this email. Mrs. Woodcox is looking for presenters for our annual STEM Night being held on Thursday, November 12th, from 5:30p to 7:30p.
Parent Teacher Conferences! These will be held Monday, October 12th through Wednesday, October 14th from 4pm to 7:45pm. Please sign up using this link by finding my name before choosing a day and time: https://bookings.cloud.microsoft/book/ShepardsonSTEMElementarySchoolCopy@poudreschools.onmicrosoft.com/?ismsaljsauthenabled
Some highlights from our week:
Reading & Writing: We reviewed glued sounds like “ng” and “nk” at the end of a word. They are called glued sounds because it is hard to separate them when sounding out the word. Next week, we will review the digraph -ck at the end of a word.
Math: We started our next lesson on using counting strategies to add and subtract. We practiced starting with a number, then adding or subtracting from there with another number (e.g. 5 + 4 means starting at 5 and counting up 4 times - 6, 7, 8, 9) or (e.g. 9 - 4 means starting at 9 and counting back 4 times - 8, 7, 6, 5).
Geography: We continue to dive deeper into the world around us. We discussed Land, Water, Maps, Globes, and how they help us understand the world around us. Next week, we dive deeper into landforms, bodies of water, and seasonal weather.
Module Block: We are still in our Module: Be A Maker. Students learned that being an inventor involves important habits of character: perseverance, collaboration, responsibility, and initiative. We practiced these habits of character while working with a team to make shapes using a string. We read the book “The Most Magnificent Thing” by Ashley Spires. We discussed how to persevere through a problem, ask for help when needed, own our mistakes, and start on a problem right away.
Action Item Checklist (Friday Folder)
Action Item Checklist (Friday Folder)
Your student came home with their Friday Folder today! Please complete the following:
Review and Keep: All papers at home.
Check Out:
Read-A-Thon Reading Calendar
Return: The empty blue folders on Monday.
I hope you have a fantastic weekend :)
Angela Johnson
1st Grade Teacher
Shepardson STEM Elementary School
Upcoming Important Dates:
Monday, September 28th - No School (Teacher Work Day)
Thursday, October 1st - Read-A-Thon Begins! Read and record books with your student. If they read enough books, they can win prizes like a t-shirt, water bottle, etc.
Friday, October 2nd - PTO Family Movie Night “Minions and Monsters” 6:30-8:30p on the Shepardson lawn by the ⅔ playground.
Monday, October 12th - Wednesday, October 14th - Parent Teacher Conferences 4:00-6:45p (Sign-ups coming soon!)
Thursday, October 15th and Friday, October 16th - No School (Licensed Staff Exchange Days)
Friday, October 30th - Read-A-Thon Book Character Costume Parade 9:15am
My Learning Page: https://sites.google.com/psdschools.org/she-learning-1-johnson/home
My Classroom Wishlist: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3DCJ4CSOQA1ZY?ref_=wl_share
Scholastic Book Club: https://orders.scholastic.com/QN377
Friday, September 18th, 2026
Dear First Grade Families,
Happy Friday! I came back from NH on Tuesday and we got to celebrate our first classroom birthday today 🎉
Picture Day!📸Picture Day forms from Skillman are coming home in Blue Folders today. Please either return the envelope with payment or order pictures online: https://www.skillmanphotography.com/ Click on the tab on the top of the page “ Order pre-paid school portraits” and then use the code: SHEP2026.
Volunteering! This week I sent out volunteer invites to parents who returned their volunteer forms. If you did not receive a volunteer invite and would like to volunteer. Please email me with days that work for you. The two times are: Skills Rotations 10:05-10:50a and Math Rotations 1:00-1:45p. Also, if you are willing to tear out pages from our math workbooks and staple them, please email me :)
Some highlights from our week:
Reading & Writing: We finished reviewing our FLSZ rule words. These are words that double the f, l, s or z at the end of a word with a short vowel by itself. Next week, we will review glued sounds like “ng” and “nk” at the end of a word. They are called glued sounds because it is hard to separate them when sounding out the word.
Math: We finished our first “Show What You Know”! Afterwards, we went over the answers together while emphasizing that mistakes are OKAY! That is how we learn. It is so important to recognize the importance of making mistakes in our growing process. Our next lesson is on using counting strategies to add and subtract.
Geography: We continue to dive deeper into the world around us. We discussed Land, Water, Maps, Globes, and how they help us understand the world around us.
Module Block: We are still in our Module: Be A Maker.
Action Item Checklist (Friday Folder)
Action Item Checklist (Friday Folder)
Your student came home with their Friday Folder today! Please complete the following:
Review and Keep: All papers at home.
Check Out:
Picture Day form
PTO Family Movie Night flyer
Lesson 3 Math Family Newsletter
STEM+ worksheets
Media worksheets
Geography worksheets
Return: The empty blue folders on Monday.
I hope you have a fantastic weekend :)
Angela Johnson
1st Grade Teacher
Shepardson STEM Elementary School
Upcoming Important Dates:
Saturday, September 20th - Shepardson Fun Run 4K 10am-11am: Sign ups are in Blue Folders. Please be there before 10am to sign in)
Thursday, September 24th - School Picture Day!
Monday, September 28th - No School (Teacher Work Day)
Thursday, October 1st - Read-A-Thon Begins! Read and record books with your student. If they read enough books, they can win prizes like a t-shirt, water bottle, etc.
Friday, October 2nd - PTO Family Movie Night “Minions and Monsters” 6:30-8:30p on the Shepardson lawn by the ⅔ playground.
Monday, October 12th - Wednesday, October 14th - Parent Teacher Conferences 4:00-6:45p (Sign-ups coming soon!)
Thursday, October 15th and Friday, October 16th - No School (Licensed Staff Exchange Days)
Back to School Slideshow!
Back to School Classroom 2026.pdfFriday, August 28th, 2026
Dear First Grade Families,
We made it through our first full week of school! It has been quite warm, but our students have been so resilient. We get reminders before and after each recess to drink water and refill our water bottles. Thank you for labeling their things! It helps when items end up in Lost and Found. This year our Lost and Found is located in the lunchroom.
This week, we introduced our positive behavior classroom economy. Students receive blue tickets when they are following directions or helping others in the classroom. They keep them in a bag as they earn them. When they reach 15, 20 or 25 blue tickets, students can turn them in for a prize. I have attached the prizes to this email. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out!
Some highlights from our week:
Reading & Writing: We started reviewing our short vowel sounds (a and e). Students practiced making, reading and then writing their sounds. They also made a’s using a pipe cleaner and e’s using play dough. We will continue with i, o and u next week.
Math: We started reviewing what we know about math using ten-frames and identifying patterns we see in our numbers. Our first unit starts Monday “Number Partners For 10”. The Family newsletter is attached to this email.
Geography: We started learn about “Where are we?”. We started in our classroom, then school, city, state, country, continent, planet, solar system, galaxy, universe! We also started a booklet that helps students recognize where their homes are as well.
Fire Drill: We practiced our first fire drill! Students did a great job lining up quietly and walking outside quickly. We do fire drills once a month.
Action Item Checklist (Friday Folder)
Action Item Checklist (Friday Folder)
Your student came home with their Friday Folder today! Please complete the following:
Review and Keep: All papers at home.
Check Out:
Mileage Club Packet
Scholastic Book Club Flyer
Shepardson’s Annual 4K Fun Run Sign-up
Spanish Club flyer
Dance Club flyer
Return: The empty blue folders on Monday.
I hope you have a fantastic weekend :)
Angela Johnson
1st Grade Teacher
Shepardson STEM Elementary School
Upcoming Important Dates:
Tuesday, September 1st - Back to School Night! There will be two sessions: 5:30-6pm and 6:15-6:45pm. You only need to attend one session. We do two so that parents with students in multiple grades can attend both classrooms.
Monday, September 7th - No School! (Labor Day)
Wednesday, September 9th - Monday, September 14th - We will have a substitute teacher, Ms. Julie Stewart. I will be getting married in New Hampshire! I will return on Tuesday, September 15th.
Friday, September 11th - First Shepardson Night at Rollerland! 4pm-7pm
Saturday, September 20th - Shepardson Fun Run 4K 10am-11am: Sign ups are in Blue Folders. Please be there before 10am to sign in)
Thursday, September 24th - School Picture Day!
My Classroom Wishlist: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3DCJ4CSOQA1ZY?ref_=wl_share
Scholastic Book Club: https://orders.scholastic.com/QN377
Friday, August 21st, 2026
Dear First Grade Families,
We had a fast and fun first three days of school! Thank you for helping our students stay cool with a water bottle and appropriate clothing. Hopefully we will get some cooler weather soon!
Our class came up with a list of rules that we will sign and follow throughout the year. “I promise to . . . keep my hands to myself, check on each other, listen to each other, follow directions, help each other, be kind and share.” We also practiced using our classroom hand signals if we needed to use the bathroom or get some water.
Today, we listened to a book called “My Mouth is a Volcano!” by Julia Cook. This is a story about Louis who has a hard time waiting patiently when he has something to say. We took this opportunity to fill out a “Stop and Think” form together about Louis and his blurting. Your child will bring that home today. They are not in trouble! This was just practice.
Some highlights from our first three days:
Mysteryscience: We watched videos about how ice cream is made without using machines. Then watched similar videos about how different candies are made.
All About Me: We filled out a paper with our name, age, birthday, favorite food, favorite color, and things we like. Then, we drew a self-portrait. These will be hanging in the hallway the first couple of weeks.
Will it be a good year?: We played with a ball of play dough. If it turns colors, that means it will be a good school year! Ask your child about their play dough. It will be coming home in their backpacks.
Action Item Checklist (Friday Folder)
Action Item Checklist (Friday Folder)
Your student came home with their Friday Folder today! Please complete the following:
Review and Keep: All papers at home.
Check Out:
Crest Robotics and Coding Club Flyer
Drawing Classes for Kids (Young Rembrandts) Flyer
Chess Wizards flyer
Note from the Media Center
Return: The empty blue folders on Monday.
I hope you have a fantastic weekend :)
Angela Johnson
1st Grade Teacher
Shepardson STEM Elementary School
Upcoming Important Dates:
Tuesday, August 25th - We will have a substitute, but I will be at school. I will be testing students on their reading skills.
Tuesday, September 1st - Back to School Night! 5:30-7:00pm (More info coming soon)
Monday, September 7th - No School! (Labor Day)
Wednesday, September 9th - Monday, September 14th - We will have a substitute teacher, Ms. Julie Stewart. I will be getting married in New Hampshire! I will return on Tuesday, September 15th.
Friday, September 11th - First Shepardson Night at Rollerland! 4pm-7pm
Saturday, September 20th - Shepardson Fun Run 4K 10am-11am
Thursday, September 24th - School Picture Day!
My Classroom Wishlist: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3DCJ4CSOQA1ZY?ref_=wl_share
Scholastic Book Club: https://orders.scholastic.com/QN377
Wednesday, August 12th, 2026
Dear First Grade Families,
I hope you had a wonderful and relaxing summer! I am so excited to get to know you and your student this year.
To help you get to know me, here are a few fun facts! I have taught 5th grade for 10 years and this is going to be my second year teaching first grade. I am originally from New Hampshire, but I’ve been living in Colorado for 5 years. I love all things outdoors– hiking, paddling, walking, camping, snowboarding, dog walks– and I am getting married in September! My name has already changed, but my email address is still abergeron@psdschools.org. I will send out a separate email when it officially changes.
A couple of things to think about before Supply Drop-off (Monday, August 17th from 3:30pm to 4:30pm):
Family Phone Call: I will be calling each family before Monday to say hello personally. If you miss the call, that is okay! I will leave a message. You are welcome to call me back. I will be at school until 4:15pm on Thursday and Friday of this week.
Preferred Name: Does your student have a preferred name they would like to use here at school?
First Day Plans: What is the arrival and dismissal plan for your child on the first day of school, Wednesday, August 19th? Students are invited into the classroom at 9am and dismissed at 3:43pm.
I can’t wait to see you on Monday! If you are unable to make it, please let me know and I will gladly email you or I will send information home on Wednesday.
Have a wonderful rest of your week and I look forward to chatting soon! 🙂
Angela Johnson
1st Grade Teacher
Shepardson STEM Elementary School
My Classroom Wishlist: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3DCJ4CSOQA1ZY?ref_=wl_share
Scholastic Book Club: https://orders.scholastic.com/QN377
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